Importance of Body Language during Interviews

March 19, 2016

by Manish Kumar.

Positive body language is extremely important when it comes to successfully acing an interview. An encouraging body language can be a wonderful medium to convey your confidence, enthusiasm, and trustworthiness to the interviewers, that actually sets the tone for the rest of the interview.

But hold on!

How do we ensure that our body language speaks volume of our personality and preparation? Well, we can keep the following points in our mind to get it right.

Never sit on the edge of your seat: Sit firmly and lean back straight against the chair. This is an assurance that you are confident and sends that signal of assurance.

Don’t make a direct eye contact: Instead of going for a direct eye contact, make a ‘direct face contact’, a more effective way to ensure you look interested and engaged is to look different parts of someone’s face every two seconds, in a subtle way. Interestingly, if you meet a panel having more than 2 interviewer, try to maintain a ‘W’.

Use hand gesture while communicating: Hand gesture emphasizes the fact that you are better prepared. This actually goes a long way because when you’re really nervous, you tend to want to hide your hands because they express your anxiety.

Breathe deeply, and speak on the exhale: One way to soothe interview nerves is to breathe properly. Inhale when the interviewer asks you a question, then speaking on the exhale, following the air flow.

Show the acknowledgment: Apart from keeping eye and face contact, nodding your head while listening is an additional way to show attentiveness. Nod your head occasionally to let them know that you are enjoying and understand what is being said. Moreover, one should try to lean in a bit when you are engaged in a conversation, leaning slightly forward (keeping your shoulders back and down, and your chest high) demonstrates interest.

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